Level 12 - Chains of Flame

Quest Giver: Jaefan Druz in Zawabi’s Refuge
Level: 12 Party
Patron: The Free Agents (7/14/21)
Length: very long
Entry Point: The top of the burning mountain. This is a long run.
Prereqs: none
Recommended Party: standard, high bluff and diplo optionals, rogue is a big asset
Base Experience: 4,468
Quest Info:
--Creatures: gnolls, mephits, fire elementals, air elementals, hyenas, ogre magi
--Traps: blades, fire, spikes

Walkthrough:

Buff on up and head out. Through out the quest there will be many areas where archers pelt you from above, you can cloud kill them or fight behind cover. You will get up to them eventually.

Moving through you will pass a locked door on the right, we will call this Door Number One. Continuing on, you will pass another locked door on the right, we will call this Door number Two. Passing both, continue down into the mountain, clear as you go, free all slaves you pass. When you reach the bottom ledge, kill of the gnolls and get the key. Now to head back to Door Number Two. Heading through Door Number Two will take you up to a hall with a side room. Ogre Magi. Unkor the Gourmet, wants to have a Dwarf for Barbeque. We will have none of this! Since you were wise, and listed to the Lost Leader, you brought a high bluff character. Save the Dwarf! You will still have to fight the ogre magi to get his key, but the dwarf will give you a key to the treasure chamber upstairs. (diplo will get you the ogre magi key without a fight, but still cooked dwarf.)

With key or keys in hand, head further up the hall, clear out more gnolls and get another key, free more slaves, and grab some loot.

Head back to Door Number One. On the inside of the door is a fire trap, so be ready for it. Even if you disarm it, the gnolls at the top will rearm the trap if they se you, so move up together.

The next hall is a mephit hall with your first shrine. You can come back to it, but it is a fairly long trip. Use at your own discretion.

In the next area are a bunch of gnolls, a fwe slaves, and two separate ways out. To the north is a locked treasure chamber. If you got the key from the dwarf for rescuing him, that opens it. Otherwise, a very skilled rogue can pick it. DC is 56+ depending on difficulty level. Afterwards, travel south.

In the next hall, go through the door to do the north. Watch out for blade traps as you make your way through the hall. Clear the room at the end of the hall. Retrieve the key from the Overseer, free some slaves, and hit the lever in the back of the room to lower the bridges above you. Now head back out the way you came and head west.

Through the fire elemental room and into another open hallway, you will have a choice. Free the slaves up here, then choose to go through the door to the east for an optional chest, or go west to continue quest. To get the optional chest you must defeat two fire and an air elementals. When ready, cross the bridge and continue up.

Go up the scaffoldings, across the bridges and through the locked door. This room has two exits, but the bridge north is still up, travel north first.

Moving through the mephit tunnel and into the area with a large group of gnollish archers, free the slave and head under the bridge with all the archers. There is a room with a spike trap. The edges look safe, but they are not, watch out for fire traps along the sides. Disarm or avoid and head through. The door east is locked, so head south. Clear the hall, then travel across the bridge. Defeat the overseer, get the key, free the slaves, unlock the DC 50 chest and get some loot. At this point you should have freed atleast 15 slaves to mark off that requirement. The 16th slave freed will give you the Royal Firebrand key, which will unlock the final room later. If you don't have 16 slaves yet, there are a few more along the way, so keep and eye out for them. Head back across the bridge and go east.

Clear out this overlook and pull the lever on the far side. This lowers the drawbridge to the shrine below. Hop down to the now lowered bridge and shrine up.

After shrining, head across the bridge and take your first right to head to the north. This should look familiar, you were here not too long ago. Travel the route you have already taken, through the spike room, and go to the locked door. Unlock it and talk to the blind slave. Take his curse, and use a remove curse on yourself to remove it. This will open the door above and let out 4 ogre magi. Defeat them and return to Erath the Blind, he will open the door to the secret treasure chamber. After getting your loot head through the doors where the ogre magi were.

Across the bridges, up the scaffoldings and through the fire elemental room, you will reach the Royal Chamber. The 16th freed slave gave you the key to open this chamber. Head in and face the room of gnolls and their efreet ally. Search the glistening pile of goodies to find the efreet orb, and grab your loot. Done and done.

Return the Efreet Orb to quest giver and he will exchange it for an orb of the djinn to give to zawabi. He will also give you an end reward.

End Reward: Standard loot choices.